Circadian Rhythm Mechanisms Underlying Convergent Adaptation of Unihemispheric Slow-Wave Sleep in Marine Mammals.

ABSTRACT: Marine mammals have evolved unihemispheric slow-wave sleep, a unique state during which one cerebral hemisphere sleeps while the other remains awake, to mitigate the fundamental conflict between sleep and wakefulness. However, the underlying mechanisms remain largely unclear. Here, we use a comparative phylogenetic approach to analyze genes associated with light-dependent circadian mechanisms, aiming to reconstruct the evolution of the circadian rhythm pathway in mammals and to identify adaptively changed components likely to have contributed to the development of unihemispheric slow-wave sleep. Specifically, among eight genes with shared signals of positive selection in two unihemispheric slow-wave sleep-specific lineages, seven genes showed direct evidence of affecting sleep and spontane

SUBMITTER: Yin D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11683420 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature